Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) Shares Down 4.1% After Insider Selling

Shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) dropped 4.1% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $29.36 and last traded at $29.36. Approximately 20,603 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 98% from the average daily volume of 839,450 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.61.

Specifically, insider Catriona Yale sold 9,074 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.11, for a total value of $264,144.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,784,313.28. This trade represents a 8.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Patrick Lamy sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.13, for a total transaction of $29,130.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 34,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $997,935.54. The trade was a 2.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 7,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.79, for a total transaction of $241,855.45. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 597,562 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,398,933.98. This represents a 1.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AKRO shares. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, November 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.83.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 17.25, a current ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.57 and a beta of -0.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $30.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.37.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($1.05) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.15). As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.96 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AKRO. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 54.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,896,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782,029 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth $37,392,000. RTW Investments LP grew its position in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 5,919,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,829,000 after buying an additional 487,450 shares in the last quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 119.0% during the second quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 719,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,882,000 after buying an additional 391,000 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 2.9% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,077,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,053,000 after acquiring an additional 201,225 shares in the last quarter.

About Akero Therapeutics

Akero Therapeutics, Inc, together with its subsidiary, engages in the development of treatments for patients with serious metabolic diseases in the United States. The company's lead product candidate is efruxifermin (EFX), which is in Phase 3 clinical trials that protects against cellular stress and regulates the metabolism of lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins throughout the body for the treatment of biopsy-confirmed metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) patients.